Selling or Moving In? How to Legally Reclaim Your Rental Property Under Grounds 1 and 1A

How this guide helps a landlord

• Understand who can move in under Ground 1 and when Ground 1A applies.
• Time the notice correctly around the first 12 months of the tenancy.
• Know exactly when the re-letting and marketing ban starts and ends.
• Avoid the penalties for misusing a possession ground.

The new landscape after Section 21

The Renters’ Rights Act 2025 brings the biggest change to private renting in England in over three decades. From 1 May 2026, assured shorthold tenancies and “no-fault” Section 21 evictions were abolished, and private tenancies became assured periodic tenancies.

Landlords can no longer regain possession simply by serving two months’ notice without a reason. Instead, possession can only be recovered by proving a statutory ground under Schedule 2 to the Housing Act 1988, if necessary at court.

For landlords who need to sell or move in, the law provides two dedicated mandatory grounds: Ground 1 and Ground 1A. Mandatory means that if the conditions are proved, the court must make a possession order. But the conditions, notice periods and penalties for misuse are strict.

Ground 1: moving in yourself or a family member

Ground 1 has been substantially updated. It applies where the landlord, or one of joint landlords, requires the property as their only or principal home, or as the only or principal home of a qualifying close family member.

• Who can move in: the landlord or a close family member, such as a spouse, civil partner or partner living with the landlord as a couple, a parent, grandparent, sibling, child or grandchild, including certain relatives of a spouse or partner. Check the statutory list against your own family circumstances before relying on it.
• The first-year rule: possession cannot be required within the first 12 months of a new tenancy. You can serve notice during that first year, but the notice must not expire before the 12 months have ended.
• No advance warning needed: unlike the old Ground 1, you no longer need to have warned the tenant at the start of the tenancy that the ground might be used.

Ground 1A: selling the property

Ground 1A is a new mandatory ground for landlords who intend to sell. It applies where the landlord intends to sell the freehold or leasehold interest in the property, or to grant a long lease of more than 21 years.

• Private landlords only: most social landlords cannot use Ground 1A.
• The same first-year rule: as with Ground 1, possession cannot be required in the first 12 months of the tenancy.
• Lifetime tenancies are excluded: Ground 1A cannot be used against an assured tenancy created before 1 May 2026 that was not an assured shorthold tenancy (a “lifetime” assured tenancy), or against a tenancy that succeeded to a Rent Act tenancy. Former assured shorthold tenancies that became periodic on 1 May 2026 are not excluded for that reason alone.

If you are weighing up a sale with the tenant in place against a sale with vacant possession, our guide to selling a tenanted property under Ground 1A compares the options.

Notice periods and procedure

To rely on Ground 1 or Ground 1A, you must serve a formal Section 8 notice seeking possession.

• Notice period: at least four months before court proceedings can begin.
• Correct form: the notice must be in the prescribed form, name the ground relied on and give full particulars.
• Not an automatic exit date: if the tenant does not leave when the notice expires, you still need a court order and, if necessary, authorised enforcement. Never attempt to remove a tenant yourself.

The Section 8 process guide explains notice, service and preparing for court in more detail.

The restricted period: no re-letting or marketing

To stop landlords claiming they will sell or move in simply to replace a tenant, the Act imposes a restricted period during which you must not re-let the property or advertise or market it for letting.

• When it starts: on the day the Section 8 notice relying on Ground 1 or 1A is served, not the day it expires.
• When it ends: 12 months after the earliest date in the notice on which court proceedings could begin. With a four-month notice, that is roughly 16 months from service.
• Without a notice: if proceedings are started without a prior notice, the restricted period is the 12 months beginning on the date the claim is filed at court.

Penalties and offences for misuse

Local councils have wide powers to enforce the new system, backed by substantial civil penalties as an alternative to prosecution.

Tenants may also be able to apply for a rent repayment order in some cases. See our guide to rent repayment orders.

Landlord compliance checklist: Grounds 1 and 1A

• Confirm whether you genuinely intend to move in (Ground 1) or sell (Ground 1A).
• Check the tenancy start date: possession cannot be required in the first 12 months.
• Check the tenancy history: Ground 1A cannot be used against pre-May 2026 lifetime assured tenancies.
• Serve the prescribed Section 8 notice giving at least four months’ notice.
• Keep clear, dated evidence of your intention to move in or sell.
• Diary the restricted period from the date of service and do not re-let or market for letting during it.
• Take advice before re-letting if your plans change.